{"id":9143,"date":"2026-10-16T11:03:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T10:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/?p=9143\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T11:03:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T10:03:30","slug":"bob-marley-shouldnt-have-died-from-melanoma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/bob-marley-shouldnt-have-died-from-melanoma\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Marley Shouldn’t Have Died from Melanoma"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bob Marley should be celebrating his 71st\u00a0<\/sup>birthday today. Instead, the Jamaican singer, musician and songwriter died of melanoma in 1981 when he was only 36.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to see how he could have missed the warning signs. People with very fair skin are the ones most at risk for skin cancer. When a dark spot appeared under his toenail, Marley attributed it to a recent soccer injury. He probably never imagined it could be anything serious, but the spot turned out to be an aggressive form of skin cancer called acral lentiginous melanoma.<\/p>\n

Darker Skin Is at Risk<\/b><\/p>\n

While most melanomas are caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or from tanning machines, this type, which develops on hairless skin such as under nails, on the soles of the feet or palms of the hands, is more likely caused by genetic factors. While this form is rare, the incidence is highest in people of color.<\/p>\n

If Marley\u2019s cancer had been detected early, it could have been treated and even cured. Instead, his melanoma spread, or metastasized, to other areas of his body and tragically cut his life short. Advances in melanoma treatment today likely could have saved or extended his life.<\/p>\n

When to Check Your Skin<\/b><\/p>\n

Remembering Bob Marley is a reminder that anyone\u2014of any age or skin color\u2014can develop melanoma. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to note any changes in your skin. If a mole is new, changing, frequently bleeds, doesn\u2019t heal or just doesn\u2019t seem right to you, we say \u201cget up, stand up,\u201d and have it checked out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bob Marley should be celebrating his 71st\u00a0birthday today. Instead, the Jamaican singer, musician and songwriter died of melanoma in 1981 when he was only 36. It\u2019s easy to see how he could have missed the warning signs. People with very fair skin are the ones most at risk for skin cancer. When a dark spot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[209,211],"tags":[775,320],"class_list":["post-9143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-spotlight","tag-bob-marley","tag-melanoma"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9143"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9144,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9143\/revisions\/9144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}